Bleakley Financial Group LLC Buys 772 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,486 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 772 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 36,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,657,000 after acquiring an additional 5,134 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 4,852 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,369,000. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.3% during the fourth quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,269,000 after buying an additional 4,991 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Absher Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3 %

NYSE MRK opened at $89.52 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.33 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $99.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.85 by ($0.13). Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $15.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.03 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. HSBC raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.